Advertisement
Mental health
OpinionComment
Anthony Yeung
Vera Men
Paul Yip
Anthony Yeung,Vera MenandPaul Yip

Opinion | Suicide prevention should start at home, in every Hong Kong household

  • Research suggests about 60 per cent of Hong Kong suicides occur at home, with women, the widowed and those living alone at particular risk
  • Mobilising families, community resources, NGOs and the government is essential to creating a supportive environment for those who are struggling

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
An elderly woman sits alone on a bench in Sha Tin on August 28, 2020. Living alone, being a woman and being widowed have all been identified as risk factors for at-home suicide. Photo: Felix Wong
Anthony Yeung,Vera MenandPaul Yip
Family is the core unit of every society, and it plays an especially important role in Chinese society. Family should be a place of safety and comfort.

However, many in Hong Kong are facing difficulties, including health issues among family members, financial disputes and divisions within the family, especially in low-income households. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated many of these difficulties.

Suicides at home are common in Hong Kong. According to our recently published article in the journal Injury Prevention, about 60 per cent of suicide cases occur at home in the city. Given that there are about 900 deaths from suicide annually, that means more than 500 take place inside someone’s residence each year in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s rate of at-home suicide is similar to that in the United States and Canada but higher than in other places such as South Korea, where the rate is about 30 per cent. Among all suicide cases, we found that being female, living alone or being widowed were risk factors for at-home suicide.

We also observed that young and elderly populations were more likely to die by suicide at home. Women may spend more time at home alone, given that family members who do unpaid domestic labour are predominantly female. Older adults might be less physically able to travel, so they are more likely to die by suicide at home.

06:35

Coronavirus: South Korea sees surge in suicide rate among young women during the Covid-19 pandemic

Coronavirus: South Korea sees surge in suicide rate among young women during the Covid-19 pandemic
People who live alone or are widowed are more vulnerable because their home is readily accessible and they are unlikely to be interrupted. Conversely, we found that middle-aged people may be less likely to die by suicide at home. One reason is that they may fear turning their residence into a “haunted flat”.
Advertisement